NIU baseball: Ball State at Huskies preview

First pitch: 3 p.m. Thursday; Noon Friday; 3 p.m. Friday, Ralph McKenzie Field

Records: Cardinals 31-22 overall; Huskies 22-29 overall

Last game: The Cardinals won 7-4 at Butler earlier this week; the Huskies won 7-3 at Milwaukee on Tuesday.

Who to watch: Ball State's Caleb Stayton smacked a grand slam that turned out to be the difference in the win over Butler. ... Northern Illinois' Stephen Letz had a big day against Milwaukee, going 3 for 5 with three RBIs and a home run.

The lowdown: Despite being Mid-American Conference foes, this is a non-conference series – making up for Akron disbanding the program. ... The Huskies finished 14-10 in conference play and can be the No. 3 seed heading into…